While Formula 1 crowns the best individual, it is also a team game with two drivers working towards the same goal and finding the right partnership is a key task for the people in charge.

While some opt for a dominant Number 1 driver, other teams like to keep it more even and after ranking every driver pairing of the 2025 grid, we’re doing it again for 2026…

Ranking the F1 2026 driver line-up pairings from weakest to strongest
11. (-3) Racing Bulls – Liam Lawson and Arvid Lindblad

There is a lot of hype surrounding Arvid Lindblad but until we actually see him in an F1 car, it is hard to rank him very highly.

As for Lawson, his time at Red Bull has damaged his reputation and even if he did rebuild it somewhat at Racing Bulls, there is a feeling he is a couple levels below the best of the best.

10. (=) Alpine – Pierre Gasly and Franco Colapinto

Gasly may feel a little hard done by to be this low but he is being dragged there by his teammate.

If we were ranking the drivers as individuals, the Frenchman may have a case for spot inside the top 10, but Colapinto was awful in 2025, even if the Alpine was not up to much.

Gasly beat him 11-7 in races and 15-3 in qualifying and there was talk that the young Argentine may not survive into a second season.

He will need a quick improvement if he is to reach 2027.

9. (-2) Haas – Esteban Ocon and Ollie Bearman

Even if fellow-rookie Kimi Antonelli scored more points, Ollie Bearman was standout performing in F1 2025 and has always looked comfortable when asked to make various steps up.

He also finished 13th in the standings, two spots ahead of his far more experienced, race-winning, team-mate.

As for Ocon, he was a driver whose under performance went under the radar. He is seen as a safe pair of hands but you would struggle to argue he is one of the top 10 drivers on the grid.

8. (-2) Aston Martin – Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll

Lance Stroll is often heavily criticised, and while clearly a skilled driver, he is not one of the very best drivers on the grid. And, so, Aston has sunk down as a result.

Across the garage, Alonso is one of the best drivers on the grid and when he has a car to work with, as he has shown it consistently in his long career, he delivers.

7. (+2) Audi – Nico Hulkenberg and Gabriel Bortoleto

Gabriel Bortoleto may have been ahead of only Colapinto and Jack Doohan in the standings last year but it was a positive year for the Brazilian who got better as the season wore on. He ended his maiden F1 campaign highly rated amongst his peers.

Nico Hulkenberg meanwhile is still enjoying an Indian Summer having returned to the sport with Haas in 2023.

A competitive Audi will give both drivers the chance to show what they can do.

6. (New) Cadillac – Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas

Cadillac’s drivers have the fifth-highest number of wins between them of any team on the 2026 grid but there is still a question mark over how they will do this season.

Ignoring the unknown element of Cadillac being a new team, both Sergio Perez and Valtteri Bottas have been out of the seat for a year, making it hard to accurately evaluate how good they might be.

They are also both known as better wingmen than leaders, having partnered Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen respectively. As a new team, Cadillac went for the safe, experienced route when deciding on its first driver lineup.

5. (-3) Ferrari – Charles Leclerc and Lewis Hamilton

It’s an enormous drop from the Number 2 spot last year, justified by the trials and tribulations of Lewis Hamilton.

This time 12 months ago, there was a belief that a fresh environment at Ferrari may shake him out of the malaise that had set in during his latter years at Mercedes. Instead, the reverse seemed to happen, and Hamilton got worse to point that Q1 exits are not even shocking anymore.

The F1 2025 Ferrari was not great but Leclerc destroyed his seven-time World Champion team-mate. In 19 of 24 quali sessions, Leclerc was ahead. In 18 of 21 races they both finished, Leclerc was ahead.

Hamilton’s drop in form has been going on too long for it to be considered temporary and instead, we must acknowledge that this may well be his level now. Could we be made to eat our words? Sure, but there is not a lot of evidence to suggest that right now.

As for Leclerc, he is at his best with a car capable of fighting for pole and he didn’t get many chances to do that in 2025.

4. (=) Williams – Alex Albon and Carlos Sainz

2025 was an excellent year for Williams courtesy of two drivers performing at a very high level.

Alex Albon has been a very dependable driver since moving to Grove, and has somewhat consistently banked points. The points and the arrival of Sainz was expected to elevate the team even further.

It was slow going to begin with but Sainz eventually found his groove and went on to score two podiums for the team and make Ferrari’s decision to get rid of him look even worse.

If Williams is able to come good on its promise to be strong in 2026, it has two extremely capable drivers.

3. (+2) Mercedes – George Russell and Kimi Antonelli

2025 was a great year for George Russell who continued his upward trajectory to consistently perform at a high level, even if the car was not always there.

He was the best-ranked non-McLaren driver not called Verstappen and looked comfortable in his new role as team leader.

As for Kimi Antonelli, he started impressively but really struggled during the European stretch. A recovery in the final third of the year showed he is not a busted flush and with the difficult first year out of the way, he should kick on in F1 2026.

2. (+1) Red Bull – Max Verstappen and Isack Hadjar

There were question marks about Lawson when we did this list last year and while Isack Hadjar is still not a safe bet, there is more optimism that he finally may be a competent teammate for Verstappen.

Signs of that came in 2025 with Hadjar finishing 12th in the standings including his first podium, but surviving in the Red Bull is no easy feat.

However, the reason Red Bull has ranked second is simply because of the strength of Verstappen. He is the undisputed class of the field, even if the title went elsewhere, and he is at the peak of his powers.

He carried Red Bull on his back in 2025 and so, if Hadjar can provide even as little as 20 percent of the team’s points, it will be a force in the Constructors’ battle this season.

1. McLaren – Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri

McLaren topped our rankings in 2025 and you will not find anyone who would suggest its driving duo have got worse 12 months on.

Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris are perhaps the most evenly matched pairing on the grid and both are performing at incredibly high levels.

Sure, they had their peaks and drops throughout 2025 but when discussing potential title contenders for 2026, are either of them being left out?

They are both young as well, suggesting they should only get better and it will be interesting to see how a world title changes Norris. For Piastri, there is work to do to bounce back from his poor end to 2025 but he still looks like a World Champion in waiting.

Read next: F1 2026 uncovered: Next-gen cars, new tyres, and design decisions

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